CadetOne

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• Commented on Russian Soyuz-2.1b Launch Failure

  > Yeah right! Commercial crew advocates on this forum and others have been arguing for a couple of years now that Space X should do everything and NASA should do practically nothing We should be careful distinguishing between the space...

• Commented on Russian Soyuz-2.1b Launch Failure

  > Being dependent on Russia in order for Americans to gain access to space until the next generation of manned US manned spacecraft was ready to fly was simply a bad idea. Congress should have rejected this idea from the...

• Commented on News Embargo Inconsistencies

  > I may be misinterpreting your questions, but: Do we actually have the means for getting spectral lines from extrasolar planets? The Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) telescopes were designed to determine the spectral lines of planets, but they got the...

• Commented on SLS Industry Day Charts Online

  I liked the Chris Kraft editorial in part because he was one of the major insiders, not us Space Cadets sniping. He still says the same words though: "In fact, the budget that will be consumed by this big rocket...

• Commented on SLS Industry Day Charts Online

  Looking at the 5th slide, I see there are still no plans to develop anything for the Moon (landers, outposts, etc.), highlighted items include "Lunar Flyby & Orbit" (I think that is sad that that is pulled out as a...

• Commented on SLS Industry Day Charts Online

  Am I reading this correctly: All the time and money spent to develop 5-segment boosters and they will only be used on 2 test flights?...

• Commented on News Embargo Inconsistencies

  Given how many planets have been found, how many multi-planet systems have been found, now super earths in the goldilocks zones and earth-sized planets have been found, IMHO there should be serious effort put into getting spectral lines from these...

• Commented on Exploration Roadmap Materials Online

  I think I've figured it out! NASA started becoming less effective after Microsoft created PowerPoint. Seriously though, what did NASA do before PowerPoint? I'd like to think all that energy now going to making PowerPoint presentations was going to something...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  Ran across this quote today that can be applied to many of these new efforts: All truth passes through three stage. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. --Arthur Schopenhauer Unfortunately,...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  > As I've heard many people say, "to become a millionaire in the commercial launch market you've got to start out as a billionaire." Elon Musk said that, giving it a certain credibility. ;) If you want to become rich,...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  Does anyone know what happens if the plane gets airborne and they detect a problem with the rocket before launch? Do they try to land with the rocket full of fuel still attached? Do they drop the rocket and call...

• Commented on Mike Griffin's Lukewarm Support for Stratolaunch

  Maybe if they strapped some SRBs to the sides of the rocket he would like it better....

• Commented on Whiplash: Mike Griffin's Ever Changing Commercial Space Stance

  While many of us bash NASA as an organization (I challenge any organization to be effective when your board of directors is effectively Congress), I don't think many of us doubt there are still plenty of brilliant people in NASA....

• Commented on Newt Skywalker

  I think one difference at this point in time is that you have individuals and organization in the private sector pouring in 100s of millions of dollars. From smaller companies like Armadillo, to suborbitals like Virgin Galactic, to Orbitals like...

• Commented on Whiplash: Mike Griffin's Ever Changing Commercial Space Stance

  > from @NASAWatch Mike Griffin admits "being critical of so-called commercial efforts when they get money in advance of performance. That does not apply here" That is not entirely unreasonable position. I guess this press event is part of an...

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  > From @NASAWatch Allen: for first time since John Glenn America cannot fly its own astronauts in space. And the downtime between Apollo and Shuttle. And the downtime after Challenger. And the downtime after Columbia....

• Commented on Stratolaunch Systems Unveiled

  Reminds me of the DARPA project where they pushed a 72,000 pound dummy rocket out the back of a C-17 in flight. Also, a number of years ago the Discovery Channel did a special covering Rutan's win of the Ansari...

• Commented on Newt Skywalker

  These writers should pick up Zubrin's "The Case for Mars". In there is a section on how Gringrich would promote/fund HSF (primarily through prize money). It may not be his current thinking, but it is more than what was covered...

• Commented on NASA Announces Next SpaceX Dragon Mission to ISS

  If SpaceX fails on a satellite, hopefully insurance picks up the tab, and then SpaceX must work hard to convince their current pending customers to stick with them. But approaching ISS, in my opinion, is different. Some $100 billion to...

• Commented on Tonight's Debate: Space Policy Between The Personal Jabs

  > colonizing the moon would inspire students to study math and science Then from Zakaria today: > United States used to have the world's largest percentage of college graduates. We're now number 14 ... there were fewer engineering and engineering...

• Commented on NASA Announces Next SpaceX Dragon Mission to ISS

  > I believe the additional launch experience Musk would have gotten even without a docking would have made an earlier launch a wise investment. I agree. > The ULA director's point that the only accurate guage of a launch vehicle...

• Commented on NASA Announces Next SpaceX Dragon Mission to ISS

  I'm waiting for Estes engines with gimbaled thrust vectoring so we can get rid of the tail fins. :-P...

• Commented on COTS Faces Reality

  On a lighter note... for the space cadets out there who still enjoy model rockets, there is a SpaceX model rocket that is coming soon to Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006GX14R8/...

• Commented on Kepler Finds Planet in Habitable Zone of Sunlike Star (With Video)

  Is there a "next step" planned for getting spectral analysis from the reflected light from these planets? Can current telescopes do it, or will we have to wait for something like TPF to be resurrected?...

• Commented on The Long Confusing Path Toward Space Station Utilization

  > What became ISS was initiated in the mid '80's and has just been completed this year - call it roughly 25 years from inception to construction complete. Below is an excerpt from Pres. Reagan's 1984 State of the Union...

• Commented on New SLS NRA Ready for Release

  Is this for the second phase of SLS with possible liquid fueled boosters?...

• Commented on Neil Tyson: Misquoted or Missing The Point?

  > We have the only functioning spaceplane in orbit at this moment. I know. How cool is that? The little unmanned spaceplane that could. It is frustrating to me that this doesn't get much recognition, but I guess the military...

• Commented on Neil Tyson: Misquoted or Missing The Point?

  The talk was, after all, titled "Delusions of Space Enthusiasts". Tyson was purposely being provocative. Still, I agree with him on a number of points. HSF in particular is about geopolitics, and much of the early robotic missions (beginning with...

• Commented on MSL Is On Its Way To Mars

  "nominal" never sounded more beautiful. :)...

• Commented on Heads Up NASA: Get Used To Having A Lot Less Money

  NASA's FY2012 budget is $648 million less than 2011 and $924 million than requested. NASA is requested to make a $1.8 billion cut for FY2013 (ironically, exactly the same as SLS) For FY2014's budget there may be a new President...